The present invention relates to solar module installation application. More particularly, the present invention provides a solar module bonding method integrated into a pan structure for providing automatic bonding of multiple solar modules for electrical grounding. Merely, by way of example, the present invention has been applied to solar module roof top installation for utilizing both electric power and thermal power generated by the solar module for any homes, but it would be recognized that the invention has a much broader range of applications.
Over the past centuries, the world population of human beings has exploded. Along with the population, demand for resources has also grown explosively. Such resources include raw materials such as wood, iron, and copper and energy, such as fossil fuels, including coal and oil. Industrial countries worldwide project more increases in oil consumption for transportation and heating purposes from developing nations such as China and India. Obviously, our daily lives depend, for the most part, upon oil or other forms of fossil fuel, which are becoming scarce as it becomes depleted.
Along with the depletion of our fossil fuel resources, our planet has experienced a global warming phenomena, known as “global warming,” and brought to our foremost attention by our former Vice President Al Gore. Global warming is known as an increase in an average temperature of the Earth's air near its surface, which is projected to continue at a rapid pace. Warming is believed to be caused by greenhouse cases, which are derived, in part, from use of fossil fuels. The increase in temperature is expected to cause extreme weather conditions and a drastic size reduction of the polar ice caps, which in turn will lead to higher sea levels and an increase in the rate of warming. Ultimately, other effects include mass species extinctions, and possibly other uncertainties that may be detrimental to human beings.
Much if not all of the useful energy found on the Earth comes from our sun. Generally all common plant life on the Earth achieves life using photosynthesis processes from sun light. Fossil fuels such as oil were also developed from biological materials derived from energy associated with the sun. For life on the planet Earth, the sun has been our most important energy source and fuel for modern day solar energy. Solar energy possesses many characteristics that are very desirable! Solar energy is renewable, clean, abundant, and often widespread. Accordingly, solar panels have been developed to convert sunlight into energy. Most solar energy systems today use “PV” technology. They convert sunlight directly into the electricity that you use to light your home, or power your appliances. As merely another example, solar thermal panels also are developed to convert electromagnetic radiation from the sun into thermal energy for heating homes, running certain industrial processes, or driving high grade turbines to generate electricity. In fact, solar photovoltaic panels also generate heat as a side product. Solar panels are generally composed of an array of solar (PV and/or thermal) cells, which are interconnected to each other. The cells are often arranged in series and/or parallel groups of cells in series. Accordingly, solar panels have great potential to benefit our nation, security, and human users. They can even diversify our energy requirements and reduce the world's dependence on oil and other potentially detrimental sources of energy.
Although solar panels have been used successful for certain applications, there are still certain limitations. Solar cells are often costly. Depending upon the geographic region, there are often financial subsidies from governmental entities for purchasing solar panels, which often cannot compete with the direct purchase of electricity from public power companies. Additionally, most PV solar energy systems only utilize about 15% of the captured sun's energy. The remaining energy, mostly in the form of heat or thermal energy, remains untapped. Moreover, conventional solar energy systems are also difficult to maintain and monitor for operational accuracy. Once a solar energy system has been installed, there is simply no easy way to monitor the accuracy of energy production. In particular, a solar module can include multiple PV solar panels integrated with one or more solar thermal panels for being installed on roof top of a target home to couple with other traditional building utility modules for providing electricity supply, hot water supply, home heating, cooling, and ventilation. There is need of simple-to-manufacture, easy-to-use structural parts bearing multi-functions for installing the solar module while providing automatic electric bonding of multiple panels and efficiently utilizing thermal energy carried from the module. These and other limitations are described throughout the present specification, and may be described in more detail below.
From the above, it is seen that improved techniques for mounting and bonding integrated solar module are highly desired.